In the world of Dandadan, yokai (or spirits) are a huge facet of the story. Although there do not seem to be supernatural elements at first, the floodgates come rushing in the moment Okarun interacts with the first yokai in the anime, Turbo Granny. After that, we encounter multiple spirits that have their own distinct appearances and abilities, all based on actual Japanese folklore.
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At the end of Season One, we have thus far encountered four spirits. However, more spirits are lurking around the corner that will have a huge impact on the story later. As such, here is a rundown of all the yokai in Dandadan, ranking them based on power level.
8
Mai Kawabanga/Onbusuman
The Onbusuman spirit was originally a human being named Mai Kawabanga, an elementary student who was the best friend of current Class Rep, Rin Sawaki. After dying due to a car accident, Mai turns into an Onbusuman spirit and starts to haunt Rin, but Rin doesn’t notice Mai’s presence until she comes across Okarun’s second kintama.
However, the Onbusuman was initially hostile, regularly crushing Rin under its weight. With the help of Seiko, Momo, and Okarun, they managed to exorcize the Onbusuman, with Mai’s spirit and Onbusuman abilities merging with Rin. As a result, Rin is one of the five characters in the story who can transform, using her natural singing talents to activate Mai’s gravity manipulation abilities. Although useful, Mai’s powers could easily be stopped just by disrupting Rin from singing.
7
Acrobatic Silky
The third major yokai encountered, Acrobatic Silky quickly showcased how deadly she was during her fight against Okarun and Momo. She had been haunting Aira Shiratori since she was a child and made her move after Aira’s spiritual powers were reawakened after coming into contact with Okarun’s kintama.
Acrobatic Silky, as suggested by her name, shows her agile, acrobatic fighting skills, combined with using her extendable hair to restrain her opponents. In truth, Acrobatic Silky’s tragic background shows she was once a human who lost her child and committed suicide not long after. As a lost spirit, she connected with a young Aira and became overprotective of her. She selflessly gave up her aura to a deceased Aira to revive her, allowing Aira to return to life and transform into Acrobatic Silky.
6
Fairy-Tale Card
The primary antagonist of the Danmanra Arc, the Fairy-Tale Card was confined to a cursed trunk and has been finding ways to break free from its prison. It has a vast array of powers and, due to its capability of creating pocket dimensions, made an inner world to trap its victims and possess them so that it could escape.
The Fairy-Tale Card has a unique appearance, looking more like a plant, but instead of flowers, it has multiple cards attached. These cards cause trouble for our heroes, as each card has different capabilities, from taking away your eyes and mouth to possessing you through eye contact. This spirit nearly escaped due to taking over Unji Zuma’s body but was ultimately defeated and stripped of its powers by Count Saint-Germain.
5
Umbrella Boy
Based on the Japanese yokai Kasa-obake, the Umbrella Boy spirit — like Acrobatic Silky and Onbusuman — was once a sweet, innocent boy named Futa Zuma. Sadly, Futa drowned in the river after chasing down his umbrella and became the Umbrella Boy spirit in death. Futa’s kind and sweet personality transferred to his spirit self, but his yokai abilities are nothing to scoff at.
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By fate or by chance, the spirit encountered Unji Zuma, Futa’s older brother, and offered to share his abilities with Unji. Unji thereby merges with Umbrella Boy and can use his intense shockwave abilities to fend off the monsters in the Fairy-Tale Card’s cursed trunk before fully transforming into the Umbrella Boy, becoming the deciding factor in the Fairy-Tale Card’s defeat.
4
Earthbound Spirit Crab
Although the Earthbound Spirit Crab only made a brief appearance in the earlier episodes of Season One, it’s a spirit that’s not to be messed with. The Earthbound Spirit Crab had been residing in the tunnel Okarun later visits in Episode one and was, in fact, the embodiment of several murdered girls.
After being comforted by Turbo Granny, the spirit agreed to merge with her. Due to the fusion of the Earthbound Crab with Turbo Granny, the two were able to give Momo and Okarun a hard time, chasing them throughout the city. However, Momo was able to think up a trap and lead the Earthbound Crab outside of city bounds. Although Turbo Granny managed to escape in a nick of time, the Earthbound Crab was exorcized and the spirits of the murdered girls were able to find peace after.
3
Evil Eye
You know the Evil Eye is one of the most fearsome spirits in Dandadan when even Turbo Granny says she’s wary of getting into a fight with him. This spirit enters the narrative during the Evil Eye Arc, desiring to possess Enjoji Jin due to his considerable spiritual powers. Evil Eye is powerful enough to ward off several notorious spirit mediums, even pushing them to take their own lives.
Although he does get his wish of taking over Jin, his bloodlust is suppressed due to Jin’s control and Okarun’s intervention. When Jiji uses his Evil Eye form, he’s able to keep toe-to-toe with Okarun’s Turbo Granny form, using his increased strength, repulsion waves, and energy beams to defeat enemies like the Ta Komeshi Kur.
2
Turbo Granny
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Vessel
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Okarun/Takakura Ken
The yokai with probably the most screen time, Turbo Granny was the first spirit encountered in the show. She is extremely territorial over the tunnel she claims as her own, and if someone runs away from her, she automatically thinks she’s being challenged to a race and would run after them. Of course, if her opponent loses, she curses them — this is what happens to our protagonist, Okarun.
After her defeat, she becomes confined to a lucky doll while her powers are permanently locked inside Okarun. Through Okarun, we’re able to see Turbo Granny’s powers in full force, as her incredible speed and reflexes can surpass most enemies Okarun encounters. However, Okarun has since returned Turbo Granny’s powers to her, keeping his promise after recovering his two kintama.
1
Reiko Kashima
A spirit that’s directly inspired by the famous Slit-Mouthed Woman of Japanese legend, Reiko Kashima was once a very beautiful woman who was killed due to an air bombing. She became a vindictive yokai in death, obsessed with her appearance, which becomes directly tied to her mirror abilities.
She comes into direct confrontation with Momo in the manga and nearly traps her in her mirror but is ultimately tricked. A powerful spirit, she is able to imitate the voices of others and even attack and possess others from a distance if there’s a mirror nearby. Reiko has a deep hatred for aerial bombs likely due to the trauma from her death, and she decimates the Kur when they start performing an air raid. Reiko Kashima hasn’t been animated yet, but her appearance in the anime is highly anticipated.
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